Punching Away The Bitter Pain Of Divorce

Floored by an emotional wallop, he found his salvation in the sweet science

- Kevin Hoffman

Talk about a sucker punch. My wife and I were on holiday to celebrate her making partner at her law firm. One night during the trip, she’d led me out the back door of our Airbnb to make love in a hot tub. It was the sexiest thing she’d ever done. Our 10th anniversary was a few months away.

In the morning, her phone kept chirping with texts. It was 7am and this was vacation, so I asked her to move the phone to the next room. Please.

She reacted defensively and said I was trying to “control her phone”. A sleepy spat escalated quickly, growing loud and tense. Then I said it. “If we can’t find a way to come to an agreement on these things, we’ll end up getting divorced.” 

“I want a divorce,” she blurted. 

The British have a word for moments like this: gobsmacked. My wife had never hinted that she was dissatisfied, let alone considering divorce. Yet once the words escaped her lips, there was no changing her mind. She didn’t want to talk about it. She refused couples counselling. She was done.